STRATEGIC PLAN UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE - COLLEGE OF EDUCATION AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT MISSION AND VISION The mission of the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) is to advance knowledge and understanding across our disciplines and constituencies and to develop educational and human development leaders who will inform policy, improve practice, strengthen communities, and address pressing social concerns. We prepare students to be exemplary professional practitioners and scholars; to generate, use, and disseminate knowledge about teaching, learning, health and sport, counseling, and leadership in public and private sector organizations; and to collaborate with others to solve critical human problems in a diverse community. We seek to continually improve the quality of life for all in our metropolitan community, the Commonwealth of Kentucky, the nation, and world. We will strive to be a top-tier national metropolitan College of Education and Human Development in teaching, research, service, and stewardship. We will respond to the needs of our students and constituents, including school districts, government agencies, and community organizations that seek to advance education and human development. INTRODUCTION TO STRATEGIC PLAN The CEHD s Strategic Plan (the Plan) establishes the priorities, goals, and initiatives that will guide the CEHD in pursuing its mission while also contributing to the University s vision of reaching preeminence as a nationally recognized metropolitan research university. The Plan was the result of a collaborative process that included input from CEHD faculty, staff and students. It integrates the ideas of the CEHD s Conceptual Framework, Shaping Tomorrow: Ideas to Action (2016) and aligns with the University s recent 21 st Century Initiative: Powering the 2020 Plan (2016). Given the current landscape of higher education, the Plan was also designed to be flexible and organic so that the priorities, goals, and initiatives in the Plan may be periodically reconsidered and adjusted through appropriate CEHD governance structures and processes. The Plan is supported by the CEHD Strategic Planning Work Group of faculty, staff, and student representatives, Dean Ann Larson, her Leadership Team of Associate/Assistant Deans and Department Chairpersons, and the faculty and staff of the CEHD. Specific timelines and measures for assessing meaningful progress toward satisfying the goals and initiatives in the Plan will be created and periodically reviewed based on a CEHD Plan Scorecard designed by Dean Larson, her Leadership Team, and the CEHD s Planning and Budget Committee, and progress will be reported annually to the faculty and staff of the CEHD. 1
STRATEGIC PLAN Priority: Educational Excellence We will engage in teaching practices that prepare education and human development professionals with the knowledge, skills, abilities, and dispositions to achieve their career goals in a diverse society. We will do this by fostering an engaged and responsive culture that continues to creatively and effectively pursue and advance educational excellence. Goal: Improve the student learning experience. Establish and implement research-based instructional and pedagogical methods to maximize student knowledge, learning, and human development. Recruit, retain, support, and develop faculty members in the area of teaching and student support to facilitate program quality, integrity, and continuity. Provide opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students to engage in research. Equip classrooms with effective technology that enhances learning. Provide services that support student success, retention, and progress toward graduation. Goal: Assess, evaluate, and improve program curricula to meet the highest standards of rigor, relevance, and competent teacher and student performance. Evaluate and implement evidence-based best practices in our curricula. Establish cultural competency requirements for our students in all programs. Employ a continuous assessment system (CAS) as required for educator preparation program accreditation and, as appropriate, for other accreditations, certifications, and/or agency approvals. Use effective evaluation tools to demonstrate continuous improvement in academic programs and capture the impact of our programs after graduation. Design degree and certificate programs that best serve our prospective students, community, and employers. Goal: Promote responsible growth of academic programs. Design and implement strategies and practices to attract and retain high quality students. Seek scholarship funding to help retain current students and support new students. Create a strategic enrollment management system (SEMS) that ensures reasonable and responsible academic program growth and sustainability. Goal: Recruit and retain students from diverse backgrounds. Initiative Develop a comprehensive plan to attract and retain prospective students from diverse populations including active and targeted recruitment strategies, eliminating or limiting impediments to student persistence, and supporting progress to graduation. 2
Priority: Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity We encourage, support, and value research and scholarship and will continue to develop our research and scholarship to meet and exceed levels achieved by our regional competitors and ACC benchmark institutions. We will also generate local, regional, national, and global recognition for scholarly innovation and impact with particular focus on our role as a public metropolitan university. Goal: Demonstrate progress toward higher quality and increased quantity of funded research (industry contracts, grants from federal and state agencies, and private foundations) with a particular focus on larger federal funding. Develop formalized connections among junior faculty and senior faculty with external funding to increase grant writing and management capacity within the CEHD. Connect faculty interests to appropriate Centers and University and community interdisciplinary venues to promote collaboration and successful funding proposals. Facilitate opportunities to understand and better support the Council on Post- Secondary Education s objective of increasing applied and translational research. Goal: Demonstrate progress toward higher quality and increased quantity of nationally prominent scholarship (editorships, professional leadership, presentations, and publications) and maximize its positive impact on both academe and our community. Formalize mentorships of junior faculty to provide co-writing opportunities. Develop a voluntary writing workshop for all faculty to discuss and receive supportive feedback on writing. Expand graduate student recruitment efforts and increase enrollment with particular focus on high quality doctoral students. Support faculty travel to present peer-reviewed papers at high visibility professional conferences. Promote and encourage faculty editorships and/or leadership positions on boards and professional societies. Raise the regional, national, and international profile of the CEHD, Departments, Programs, Centers, and faculty in the area of scholarship through publications in high quality research outlets. Goal: Demonstrate progress toward higher quality and increased quantity of research and scholarship collaborations with other academic units and community partners. Provide opportunities for faculty with similar research interests within CEHD and other units to discuss and facilitate collaboration. Facilitate opportunities to meet with community partners to discuss and implement priorities and mutually beneficial collaboration efforts. Continually assess the impact of our research partnerships, especially on underserved groups, and seek ways to strengthen or expand connections. 3
Priority: Community Engagement Community Engagement is defined by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as the collaboration between institutions of higher education and their larger communities (local, regional/state, national, global) for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity. The CEHD is dedicated to transforming our education communities through positive collaborations and providing the highest levels of learning for all students through community engagement partnerships and outreach. Goal: Inform, educate, and assist faculty, staff, and students concerning the value of mutually beneficial community-engaged teaching, research, and service. Expand our definition of community engagement to embed our mission, vision, and strengths and develop a community engagement action plan. Gather and share information about current community engagement efforts and assess the impact of our activities. Help faculty, staff, and students find mutually beneficial ways to engage with the community including peer mentoring programs, Brown Bag luncheons, and Colloquia. Introduce students to high quality educational community engagement opportunities including meaningful internship and practica experiences. Enhance our graduate student orientation to emphasize community engagement, internships, and research rotations and support those connections during program progression. Extend the role of appropriate Centers and auxiliaries (Planetarium and ELC) in areas of community engagement to maximize contributions. Consider additional opportunities to embed community engagement in current program curricula and enhance community-engaged student learning. Goal: Recognize and support our community partners and faculty, staff, and students engaging with the community. Pursue the University s Faculty-Incentive grants to promote community-engaged teaching, research, and service. Encourage and support community-engaged teaching, research, and service presentations at national and international conferences. Create additional opportunities to engage with and support our community partners in the areas of teaching, learning, and human development with an emphasis that acknowledges our priority of diversity, equity, and social justice. Priority: Diversity, Equity, and Social Justice We reaffirm that Diversity, Equity, and Social Justice are priorities in our mission, vision, and day to day work, and should be reflected in our Diversity Statement. The goals below operationalize this commitment. The goals are also intended to develop an infrastructure that 4
operates under the expanded definition of diversity which promotes a social justice orientation and a vision of society in which the availability of quality opportunities is equitable. Goal: Equip students and faculty with the knowledge and skills necessary to pursue social change that addresses the needs of marginalized populations. Update and enact a Diversity Statement that highlights our social justice orientation and the pursuit of equity for all. Establish cultural competency requirements for all academic programs and periodically assess effective translation to the service of diverse populations by CEHD graduates. Facilitate opportunities for students and faculty to participate in engaged scholarship and advocacy efforts focused on addressing the needs of marginalized populations. Pursue community partnerships that will ensure research-based learning experiences for students and faculty so they gain a greater understanding of the challenges and contributions of diverse groups in our community. Establish the CEHD as the premier unit at the University for Diversity, Equity, and Social Justice research and practice. Goal: Increase the diversity among faculty, staff, and students and support efforts to pursue a greater understanding of diversity, equity, and social justice. Create a comprehensive plan to recruit and retain a diverse student body, faculty, and staff and periodically assess and report progress. Provide faculty and staff with opportunities to attend Diversity, Equity, and Social Justice advocacy trainings and workshops. Support the facilitation of CEHD conversations and events concerning important issues related to diversity, equity, and social justice. Recognize efforts relating to diversity, equity, and social justice in faculty work plans and annual performance evaluations. Goal: Support and encourage learning about international cultures and form relationships with individuals and institutions in other countries. Engage with more international partners so faculty and students have high quality opportunities for teaching, learning, research, and service experiences including the development of exchange programs. Seek external and philanthropic funding to support international programs. Priority: Effective and Responsible Stewardship To best support and advance our priorities, we will be exemplary stewards of our resources, seek additional resources, and develop more efficient fiscal and administrative support systems. Goal: Explore, maximize, and manage all potential sources of revenue to support our CEHD priorities. 5
Pursue opportunities for new gifts and endowments. Strengthen relationships with alumni and community leaders connected to the CEHD s academic mission. Use all resources responsibly, make decisions based on reliable data and evidence, and fulfill our role as an accountable and efficient public institution. Goal: Establish a workplace culture that values exceptional performance, innovation, and ethical standards of conduct. Consistently and equitably evaluate faculty and staff and reward exceptional work. Support faculty and staff education or development particularly in areas related to leadership, innovation, or problem-solving. Meet all standards established by laws, policies, and codes of ethics/conduct. Goal: Pursue administrative and fiscal efficiency. Provide faculty and staff with technology that supports success. Enhance building spaces to help advance our priorities, goals, and initiatives. Develop methods and systems that reduce cost or administrative steps without diminishing the quality of our work. Support the University s commitment to Sustainability by educating faculty and staff and implementing best practices to preserve and maximize all resources. (Approved by CEHD Faculty and Staff Vote on October 17, 2016 after a Special Called Meeting on October 6, 2016) 6